St John's
Rinn Duin Brewing

 

A malty red ale. True to the style. Would like a bit more in the mouthfeel department but it's easy to drink.

 

 

Dark brew though not wholly unpleasant to drink. Good cold weather beer to have with dinner. Not a stand alone drink.

Crests at about a finger of off-white to tan foam, smooth surface with adequate retention at best, the lacing looks like metal mail armor in how it moves and shimmers but no stick to it. Murkily impenetrable brown hued liquid, like a muddy river, switches to a bright yellow at the surface and rims, even as opaque as it is you can see steady bubble streams close to the glass sides. Roasty, toasty nose of cocoa, hard caramel candy, cola bean, vanilla and at times coffee, the fruit scents too are sweet all grape, plum and cherry, there is a breadiness as well which stiffens its posture but even just sniffing this it is clear this is a sweeter beer aimed at easy drinking. Medium-bodied but loses considerable weight as it progresses through the mouth. The carbonation has a tight weave yet cannot direct things decisively. Bready, buttery with a cola to root beer appeal, chocolate, vanilla and butterscotch too, however, drier finish than expected, welcome. Nuttiness accrues with repeated sips. Plum, maraschino cherry, red grape fruit, no earthiness but perhaps mineral water. While no trendsetter it goes down easily and hard to imagine anyone getting pissed off for having consumed it.

 

 

On tap in a tall pilsner glass.

A- Dark reddish brown color, more red than not. Clean and clear, thin off-white head. Next to no lacing.

S- Malt forward. Notes of sweet malt, roasted malt. And bread soaked with red wine.

T- Red malt, sweet to start. There is a noticeable red wine-like presence in the flavor. It's odd.

M- Very light with little if any alcohol. No punch.

O- Well, I did finish one but could not make it through a second. It's like it is 'underbrewed'.

Had this up at the Cloverleaf last week for the first time. Big mistake on my part thinking that this beer was Irish and it wasn't until I spoke to one of the bartenders there that I found out that this was locally brewed. While not outstanding or memorable, this was a session-style beer that went down easily and stayed true to form. I didn't drink a lot for Saint Patrick's Day but had I done so, I would have started out with this to go along with my meal!

This had a typical pour to it - reddish-brown, mostly clear, with a tan head that was present but not overwhelming. The aroma was sweet and there was more than enough of that flavor in the mouthfeel, along with a stickiness reminiscent of a Brown Ale. There could have been a bit more lacing on the glass as well but there was some rings present as I worked my way through this. Hints of peat came through once this warmed up along with a cloying stickiness and some dough/bread flavors that gave this a nice fullness.

Alcohol? I'm sure it was here but I never felt it and I could have easily had another in my sitting. While not the best or worst example of the style, this was good enough to make me think that it was imported and a worthy beer for this time of the year. The caramel hue and aftertaste along with the peat and slight stickiness were hallmarks of similar styles but in the end, this was a nice Irish Red from start to finish.

Dark red almost brown, blood red
Some citrusy smell, chocolate, malty
This beer tastes like a semi dry chocolate pudding.
Medium to ligt side of heavy. But drinkability is moderately high

My favorite red beer, happy to live 30 minutes from the source.

Decent malt forward red but the taste dies off quick. Not much else going on.